I was in the same situation as you a few months ago- tried riding a hybrid on some singletrack and did more damage to myself (namely my knee) than my tank of a bike.
I just bought a Specialized Rockhopper Comp, and it is awesome. Heck, just having front shocks makes a ton of difference!!
I've heard nothing but good things about Specialized bikes, and the guys at my mom's LBS adore Specialized, so the only debate was between the comp and the regular i tried both, but i haven't been riding long enough to have noticed a heckuva lot of difference in the feel of each, aside from the comp having more gears
either way, i'd agree with the other posters in that specialized is a great value.
good luck and have fun bike hunting!